Tuesday, March 22, 2011

20 Questions From The Association - Mad In March

Should the Knicks have gotten more in return for Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler?

If we ignore his lazy defensive rotation on the play and the forearm shiver that could have led to a broken hip for Michael Beasley, is Andrew Bynum's suspension- representing two games in which he will not get hurt heading into the playoffs- a minor blessing for the Lakers?

As a good teammate, great finisher, elite athlete and arguably the best perimeter defender in the NBA, has Andre Iguodala dispelled the notion that he's grossly overpaid?

Is it mean-spirited to point out that this season (40-30 with 12 games left) is probably the best return the Hawks are going to get on their max-money investment in Joe Johnson?

Is not enough being made of the fact that Dwight Howard has put together five straight games of 22-15+ (24.6 ppg, 16.8 rpg, 63.5% FG over that stretch), including 25-18+ twice, and that his worst game of the month was a 13-21 with four assists and two blocks in a three-point loss?

By "out-Tyrekeing" (21.29 APER, 22.2 ppg, 59.1% TS%, making 2.7 of 3.7 shots per game "at the rim" in 10 games) Tyreke Evans in Sacramento, is Marcus Thornton (unrestricted on July 1) playing his way into the top tier of the free agent class of 2011?

Does the fact that a 20-50 team (the Toronto Raptors) has not yet been mathematically eliminated from from the Eastern Conference playoff "race" make a stronger case for contraction than any money-losing owner ever could?

Rather than focusing on the awkward path JaVale McGee took to arrive at his triple-double, might our time have been better spent celebrating the fact that the recently-deceased Manute Bol recorded 6 career 12+-block games?

Is there no excuse for three professional basketball teams (Timberwolves, Wizards, Cavs) to each have just one victory within the division at this stage of the season?

Would an injured Nate Robinson be about as big a help to the Boston Celtics as a healthy Jeff Green (10.59 APER, 30.8% 3-pt, 5.7% Total Rebound Rate, 3.13% Assist Rate, 10.44% Turnover Rate) has been thus far?

In claiming that Carmelo Anthony "makes those around him better," were people referring to his effect on whomever he's guarding?

With Rudy Gay on the shelf for the remainder of the season, are the Memphis Grizzlies a prime candidate to be overlooked heading into the playoffs- and make someone pay for it?

Are the Houston Rockets- sitting two games behind those Grizzlies for the West's final playoff spot- probably wishing they'd turned Yao Ming's $17.6 million expiring deal into some (any!) on-court help for the stretch run?

Do the Phoenix Suns have the air of a once-gorgeous woman that still looks good from a distance (the logo, the jerseys, the home crown, top-10 in both pace and Offensive Efficiency), but on closer inspection is really showing the effects of age (Nash's unstable groin) and subpar plastic surgery (Vince Carter, Josh Childress, Aaron Brooks)?

Should the Timberwolves be in less of a hurry (99.7 possessions/48 minutes; 1st in the NBA) to play some really bad basketball (24th in Offensive Efficiency, 25th in True Shooting % and a league-worst 15 turnovers per 100 possessions)?

Despite perennially being a team that doesn't awaken before mid-March and currently sitting just half a game behind the Celtics and the Bulls for the league's second-best record, has this been an especially "ho-hum" Lakers regular season?

Even with the offensive contributions they're currently getting from Peja Stojakovic and Rodrigue Beaubois, are the Mavericks going to regret not turning Caron Butler's expiring contract into another frontcourt defender (they've fallen from top-12 in Defensive Efficiency to 17th, and are in the bottom five since Butler got hurt) and able-bodied scorer?